Central New York drummers will play 'Three Camps' to bring awareness to hunger in the world

Mike Greenlar/The Post-Standard 2006Percussionist Patrick Shrieves is organizing Central New York drummers for the nationwide "Hunger Beat-Down" at 3 p.m. Jan. 14. The drum-in hopes to bring attention to world hunger.

Drumroll, please, for the efforts of drummers worldwide to combat world hunger. On Jan. 14, drummers will assemble to perform the 90-second “Three Camps” to bring attention to the pressing issue. The United Nations reports more than 925 million people worldwide, many of whom are children, are starving.

Patrick Shrieves, percussionist with Symphony Syracuse, is organizing the local “drum-in” for 3 p.m., but he has yet to lock down a meeting place. At the same time, across the nation’s time zones, drummers will pick up their sticks and play.

The event is a “great way for drummers and percussionists to get together and draw attention to a very needed cause,” says Shrieves.

This quick performance is part of the formally titled “Hunger Beat-Down.” Marv Dahlgren, former principal percussionist for the Minneapolis Orchestra, has collaborated with fellow percussionist David Stanoch to organize the event. Dahlgren founded the Global Drummers Alliance for Hunger Relief to spearhead this effort.

During the Civil War, drumming was used to communicate with the troops. The “Three Camps” drum solo signaled reveille. So it’s fitting it should be used as a modern-day dispatch for a crisis.

Shrieves has merged music and military service before, during his 20 years as principal timpanist with the U.S. Air Force Concert Band and Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. The musician played for five presidential inaugurations. Shrieves, 48, who lives in Manlius, joined the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra in 2005.